Recap: Ressha Sentai ToQger, Station (Episode) 25 – Right Out of a Fairy Tale

While the ladies are cleaning the Resshas, the guys have been out training and have just returned, now exhausted. Mio sees Tokacchi has fallen asleep and Right explains that he was working extra hard for what turned out to be “secret” training. Hikari says they need the extra training since they had a lot of trouble in the Shadow Town.

Kagura wants to grow stronger as well. The ToQgers’ determination excites Wagon. She says gaining more experience will help them take intense strides toward becoming adults.

Mio notices Tokacchi has a cut on his cheek, so she puts a bandage on it.

Conductor and Ticket come hurrying in to announce a Shadow kaijin is at the next station. Tokacchi falls off the seat and notices the bandage now on his face.

They hurry to the next station and disembark at Otogi (Fairy Tale) Station, which they notice is not a very Shadow-y name.

They head downtown and find interesting cosplayers dressed as Momotaro, Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood. But they seem very disinterested for having dressed up so elaborately. Turns out this is Zett’s doing. He and Baron Nero appear.

Zett says he’s just trying out the little bit of light he’s already acquired. He calls in Pin Spot Shadow and asks why none of these creations have a single spark of light. But that’s impossible, Pin Spot Shadow says, he’s brought the humans’ stories to life. They are the embodiment of human imagination.

Pin Spot Shadow sees a little boy with a picture book and aims his spotlight toward him. Tokacchi tries to knock the boy out of the way, but the beam hits him. And out of his book pops Richard Brown in new clothes the Naked Emperor.

What do you think? Pin Spot Shadow asks. “You’re fired!”
Zett blasts Pin Spot Shadow and Baron Nero apologizes. They should proceed with creating more darkness instead. Zett tells him to do whatever he wants.

He starts to leave, but Right calls out and asks; “What did you mean when you said we were the first sparkles you saw? When did you see us?”

“I said probably. It’s just a possibility, so don’t worry about it.”

Zett leaves and Baron Nero orders Pin Spot Shadow to destroy the fairy tale characters which in turn destroys the stories that fuel human imagination. That would create plenty of darkness.

The ToQgers henshin. They try to get the characters to run for it, but they are absolutely uninterested in escaping. The ToQgers have to drag them.

Akira arrives to take on Nero and Pin Spot Shadow, allowing the ToQgers to run with the characters. Right takes Momotaro, Mio and Kagura take Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood and Hikari takes Naked Emperor. Tokacchi looks for his own character to protect, but mistakenly grabs the hand of a Kuro.

The Kuro aims his gun right at Tokacchi’s head, but another dressed up character appears to save him.

The hero grabs Tokacchi’s hand and they run for it.

Baron Nero and Pin Spot Shadow leave Akira and chase after the others.

Momotaro is tired of walking, so he bribes Right into letting him hop on his back for a couple of dumplings.

Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood, meanwhile, want to go shopping for cute clothes. Kagura and Mio then decide to dress up as Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood, respectively, to lure the Kuros away.

By true potential, do you mean things I should be able to do? Tokacchi asks.
Yes, Ryu Knight answers. But I haven’t had enough practice, Tokacchi says.

“Haven’t you practiced enough?”

Tokacchi remembers the cut on his face just as Right, Hikari and Akira arrive. Akira wants them to leave this place for him to die.

Tokacchi asks Right and Hikari if they can try to do what they had been practicing. They say it is too dangerous, especially since Tokacchi hasn’t gotten the hang of it yet.

But Tokacchi says they need it. And he can see it; the image of him succeeding.

Baron Nero waits. Tokacchi tells himself not to panic. He fires at Nero then Right and Hikari launch off his shoulders to attack. That gives Tokacchi an opening to go flying in between Right and Hikari who give him an extra boost straight toward Nero.

He did it! Nero can’t believe it. “Perhaps, I’ve underestimated you. Very well, I will retreat for now.”

Nero leaves. Ryu Knight nods his approval and the ToQgers come together to summon the Renketsu Bazooka to deliver a Fairy Tale Collection Rainbow Rush.

Momotaro, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and the Naked Emperor each take their turn deliver a blow to finish off Pin Spot Shadow’s first life.

All four fairy tale characters are back to their fairy tale personalities and back in their respective books.

Ryu Knight starts to disappear, but Tokacchi calls out to him.

“I won because you told me what I was doing wrong. Thank you Ryu Knight. I mean, Oniichan.”

“Ryu-niichan. Unlike me, he was good as studying, sports and everything. I’ve always looked up to him.”

Tokacchi flashes back to his brother peeking into his room and noticing the drawing of Ryu Knight on the wall. “You’re going to have to grow out of that sooner or later.”

“Maybe I still haven’t,” Tokacchi laughs to Mio. Maybe, Mio says, but “wasn’t it you who figured out your shortcomings? That’s why the image of your brother told you. You won using your own power.”

They smile.

Tokacchi takes this opportunity to thank Mio for the bandage.

“Mio… How do I put this? You’re always so… kind and…”

But before Tokacchi can finish what he was saying, Akira fires a HUGE firework into the sky. Right and Wagon want more, but Kagura is freaked out. Mio and Hikari try to tell Akira it’s too dangerous.

Tokacchi smiles at what he was about to tell Mio. He adjusts his glasses just as Akira fires another HUGE firework causing him to knock his glasses off and onto the ground.

Episodes Thoughts

Oh, haaaay. The Tokacchi-Mio ship is still floating on! It was a nice and unexpected little tease at romance. I hope Kobayashi actually follows through with it since she’s not one to focus on romantic angles in the Sentais she has written (and I’ve watched).

So, we’ll see. But this was a great episode. Now that the ToQgers have remembered the name of their town and that it was swallowed in darkness, the next set of memories they will be regaining will be of their families, as signaled by this episode with Tokacchi remembering his brother, his hero.

We saw a little of each of the ToQgers’ families in their initial memories of the festival, but like we saw in this episode, we will get to learn more about each of the ToQgers’ most important people in their lives. I absolutely love that. I’ve expressed how much I love that nostalgic feel the season has, what with good ol’ trains, talk of hometowns and childhood memories. Now we’re getting into more emotional and deep looks into the ToQgers’ pasts. We get to see who are these people, whether they are parents, grandparents or siblings, who have helped shape who they are today.

Some people may say that is boring or will find petty things to criticize about the season, but Kobayashi’s story pulls everything together. From the designs to the structure to the layout of the season so far. (Whatever, Saban Brands, focus on your own “pre-schoolish” seasons before commenting on something that actually does everything you’re doing 10x better.),

Like many a ToQger episode, this one started out like a silly filler ep only to end on an emotional and important high. It reminds me of the very best Supernatural episodes, many of them the meta/spoof episodes that end up being crucial to the overall mythology.

Here, every single episode so far has contributed clues, big and small, as to who or what the ToQgers are, their hometown and the effects of the Shadow Line on them and said town.

So I definitely can’t wait to see the next couple of episodes focusing on the others just as nicely as this episode did for Tokacchi’s character.

As for the rest of the episode, Akira was hilarious. Never has a suicidal hero been so funny and amusing. (lol) And again, the music was used excellently all episode. I absolutely love the ToQger soundtrack.

2 thoughts on “Recap: Ressha Sentai ToQger, Station (Episode) 25 – Right Out of a Fairy Tale”

I found this episode hilarious and cool even though I’m kinda Right and Mio shipper I love the way how Tokatti has that cute crush on Mio and I loved that when Kagura got spooked she ran to Hikari and he looked like his was saying “are you ok?”